


Tattoo

by Alexa_Piper



Series: The Notebook - Unrelated Danny Phantom Oneshots from 2013 to 2019 [17]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Comedy, Gen, Identity Reveal, based on a danphanwritingprompts prompt, danphanwritingprompts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:35:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27211330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alexa_Piper/pseuds/Alexa_Piper
Summary: A night out had unforeseen consequences...
Series: The Notebook - Unrelated Danny Phantom Oneshots from 2013 to 2019 [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1986457
Comments: 4
Kudos: 42





	Tattoo

He was never getting drunk again.

Danny frowned at his reflection and leaned against the basin so that he could get a closer look. He tilted his head, angling his chin to one side and running a finger over the spot of tender skin on his neck just beneath his ear. The skin was inflamed, weeping clear fluid that had crusted with dried blood beneath the wrapping that he had just removed.

He swore, softly so that he wouldn't alert his parents, and dipped a cloth in the warm soapy water that he had run in the sink. He cleaned the gunk away, wincing at the pain before giving the spot another look in the mirror.

Fishing his phone out of his pocket, Danny took a picture of his reflection and sent it to the group chat he shared with Sam and Tucker with the caption _I blame you!_

Little icons in the corner of the chat indicated that both of them had read the message instantly.

_OMG_ Sam wrote, followed by an emoticon laughing with tears. _We were DRUNK AF_

Tucker's reply was just a keyboard mashed string of letters.

_Parents are gunna KILL me,_ Danny responded. _Any of you wake up with tattoos?_

They both responded negatively, and Danny took one more look in the mirror before turning away with a sigh. Nothing could hide the mark with the undercut he currently wore his hair in, unless he started to wear turtleneck jumpers… in the middle of June…

Yeah, like that wouldn't be suspicious.

He opened the internet on his phone, googling _can you put makeup on new tattoos._ The answer wasn't very encouraging, and he figured that he'd get found out eventually so it would just be better to get it over with.

Danny Phantom's infamous symbol was large and dark against his skin as he turned off the light and left the bathroom.

He wasn't sure how to break it to his parents, and headed downstairs without any sort of plan. Maybe he could pretend he got someone pregnant, and then their relief at the lie would soften the blow of him having their greatest enemy's iconic symbol tattooed on his neck? Or maybe he could offer to clean the lab and they'd be so happy that they wouldn't care? Or he could blame a ghost and say he was kidnapped and they tattooed him or something?

He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice his mother at the foot of the stairs with a basket of laundry until he was close enough for her to see his new addition. Danny froze, gripping the banister with one hand as he met her gaze. "Uh…"

"Danny," she said, the word slow and drawn out as her mouth tightened into a hard line, "what's on your neck?"

Every excuse was suddenly gone, and he couldn't think of what to say. "Um, about that…"

"How drunk _were_ you?!" she shouted, slamming the basket down onto the floor and grabbing him by the shoulder. Danny allowed her to twist him around, resigned to his fate as she leaned close enough that he could feel her hot breath on his inflamed skin. "And to get _this_ , out of _all_ tattoos!"

"Sorry," he mumbled. "I was so drunk I don't remember what happened. When it's healed a bit I'll get something tattooed over it."

"Any others?" she demanded, finally releasing him and taking a step back so that she could observe the rest of his visible skin.

He shook his head. "I don't think so, this is the only one I noticed when I went to have a shower."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nose. "You can tell your father," she said, before opening her eyes and picking up the basket again. "Here, go and put these away for me."

Danny took the basket without complaint and turned to head back upstairs. "The care instructions I had in my pocket say that it was Sam's tattoo artist that she said her uni friend introduced her to," he shot back over his shoulder, "so at least we know where it was."

Maddie waved him upstairs with a weary expression and Danny took the hint and left. He felt some of the tension bleed out of his shoulders - that could have gone _a lot_ worse.

As he put the folded sheets in the hallway cupboard, his veins filled with ice and air so cold it was visible streamed from between his lips. Danny dropped the basket, checking over his shoulder to make sure he hadn't been followed upstairs before shifting into his ghost form. He flew through the roof, following the energy that tugged at his core until he found the ghost tearing up an electronics store in the middle of town.

It was so routine now that he didn't think much of it - the ghosts attacked, Phantom threw them back into the Ghost Zone, and once they had recovered from their beating they'd try again. Life went on, he'd grown up, and Danny had somehow managed to keep everything a secret all though high school and beyond. His parents still hunted him, but in the end they'd heard the ghosts call him a hybrid enough times and he wasn't even sure if they viewed him as an enemy anymore. Sure, they still shot at him, but it seemed more in line with _capture_ than _kill,_ and he couldn't really hold it against them _-_ that was their job after all.

Aiming for the the smoking storefront, he threw himself into yet another altercation with Technus. It was pretty average as far as fights went - lots of shooting ectoblasts and shouting puns - but when his parents turned up, Danny was tasked with avoiding shots from all directions. He dodged a DVD player that the ghost threw at his head, uncapping the thermos and sucking Technus into it before any more damage could be done.

Something slammed into his side and Danny landed on top of a pile of broken electronics with a yelp. He flailed on his back against the net that had wrapped around his body, trying to get up as his mother approached him. She swung the barrel of her gun to face him, jabbing it into his neck. "Got you," she crowed, and Danny grunted as the metal pressed painfully against the tender spot beneath his ear.

"Come on, I just _caught_ the ghost for you!" he grumbled, wriggling the hand that still gripped the thermos. "Can't you give me a break?"

Maddie's glare shifted into a frown, and she jabbed his neck with the gun again. Danny flinched, trying to pull away, but then she knelt down and grabbed his chin with one hand and his shoulder with the other.

"Hey, what-" Danny's words caught in his throat, terror washing over him as he realised what she was looking at. Of _course_ the collar of his suit wasn't high enough!

She released his shoulder, fingers tightening on his chin as she swivelled his face to look at her. "That's fresh," she said, her mouth doing that thing from before where it tightened into a thin line. He didn't know what to say, as usual, and after a heartbeat of indecision he saw the realisation bloom across her face. " _Danny?"_

Out of every possible scenario, this was one he had never expected, and Danny's brain couldn't think of anything that could stop his secret from unravelling around him. He shifted uncomfortably, trying to move whatever device was digging painfully into his back, and sent her what he hoped was a winning smile. "Hey, Mum. How's the ghost hunting going today?"


End file.
